South America and South Atlantic Islands

Antarctica

Country information

GEOGRAPHY

The BAT comprises that sector of the Antarctic south of latitude 60 degrees South, between longitudes 20 degrees West and 80 degrees West. It is located in the coldest, driest and windiest continent in the world. The average annual temperature at the South Pole is minus 49 degrees Celsius. Only 0.7% of the BAT’s surface is ice-free. The remainder is covered by a permanent ice sheet of up to 5 kilometres thick. The highest mountain in the BAT, Mount Jackson, is 3,184 metres high.